Proposal for equitable water allocation for rotational irrigation in Pakistan

A rotational water supply system is designed to deliver a constant flow of water among irrigators along a tertiary canal. Under the existing rotational system in Pakistan transmission losses along the canal are not considered. A constant time per unit irrigated area is allocated to all the farmers regardless of their location along the canal. This results in decreasing volumes of water delivered to downstream farmers. A variable time model is developed which allocates more time to the downstream farmers to deliver a constant volume of water per unit area to all the farmers in the command area of a tertiary unit.     

A model for equitable distribution of canal water

The equitable distribution of canal water is imperative to ensure social justice as well as crop productivity. In north-west India and Pakistan, water from the tertiary canal (watercourse) is distributed to the farmers through a rotational system of irrigation. In this system the duration of supply to each farmer is in proportion to his holding in the outlet (watercourse) command, without considering the seepage loss. The rate of seepage loss increases with increase in length of watercourse from head to tail. Thus, the farmers in the lower reaches get much less water per unit area than the farmers in the upper reaches. The farmers must be compensated for the seepage loss. Therefore, a model was developed to ensure equitable distribution of water to the farmers located on a watercourse in proportion to their land holdings giving due compensation for the seepage loss. The model is based on the assumption that soil throughout the length of flow is homogeneous and loss through evaporation is negligible. The model developed ensures an equitable distribution of water to the farmers according to their land holdings. A comparison of existing and revised time allocation reveals that the farmers located in the upper reaches were getting more time (up to 12.2 min per unit area), while the farmers located in the lower reaches have been getting less time (up to 28.1 min per unit area). The existing allocation of time of 0.75 h per unit area to all the farmers according to the old rules was revised to 0.546–1.219 h per unit area from head to tail. The conclusions drawn suggest that the strategy developed here should be adopted elsewhere in the existing system of irrigation for equitable distribution of canal water. Received: 21 December 1999     

Irrigation scheduling and water availability at watercourse command

A model that simulated the irrigation schedules of a farm at watercourse command was developed to predict net farm return, benefit-cost ratio, water use, percent water utilized, deep percolation, rainfall contribution and net return per unit of water applied including rainfall. Schedules for three selected farms on a watercourse command of Tw #62394L from MONA, Sargodha, Pakistan were simulated with 3 fixed-rotation and 2 demand strategies to evaluate the allowable soil water depletion criteria. Evaluation of the simulations (1973–82) showed that the water availability reduced the net farm return of 15 and 31% at the middle and tail farms, respectively, from that of the head farm. Therefore, the existing water allocation procedure (WARABANDI) should include watercourse conveyance losses to provide equitable water distribution on a watercourse command. Demand water availability can increase the net farm return of 25 and 26% in strategies 4 and 5, respectively, by changing the fixed-rotation system to a demand system. Changing the fixed-rotation system to a demand system requires either the use of existing private tubewells or the installation of new private tubewells.     

基于AHP的热态除鳞系统往复式柱塞泵装置性能模糊评价方法

介绍了典型高压水热态除鳞系统的构成及工作原理,以除鳞系统核心装备的往复式柱塞泵装置在系统中的综合运行性能为研究对象,从装置的节能、可靠性和安全性3方面出发,以评价往复式柱塞泵装置综合运行表现力为目标,构建了完整的评价指标体系,以层次分析法(AHP)和模糊评价为核心,建立了评价指标体系评价要素权重分析方法,开展了评价指标体系评价要素实测物理参数模糊隶属度分析方法研究,在此基础上构造了基于AHP的高压水热态除鳞系统往复式柱塞泵装置综合运行性能模糊评价数学模型,形成了判定热态除鳞系统往复式柱塞泵装置综合运行力的评价方法,并通过实例分析了高压水热态除鳞系统往复式柱塞泵装置综合运行表现力评价指标体系评价要素的权重,以及评价要素实测物理参数模糊隶属度,对往复式柱塞泵装置综合运行表现力结果进行了分析,验证了该评价方法的可行性.     

Performance measure for improving irrigation management

A measure to evaluate performance in irrigation systems is analyzed using the mean square prediction error concept. In the context of irrigation system management, the term error means the deviation of actual performance from a reference performance. The measure assesses performance in terms of the management objectives of adequacy and dependability of water delivery and an equitable distribution among various water users. It provides an understanding of the management capacity to schedule and distribute water in an irrigation system. Application of the performance measure is demonstrated by evaluating performance of an irrigation system in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan.     

无人机变量施药实时监控系统设计与试验

在航空施药过程中,为保证单位面积施药量的一致性、实现施药流量的实时控制,提出一种航空变量施药分级控制算法。该算法根据各参数的等级和阀门开度建立分级控制表,再结合分级控制公式计算作业参数变化时阀门对应的开度,从而计算出施药流量,实现施药流量的自动调节。基于该算法设计了基于单片机多信息融合的航空变量施药实时监控系统,通过软硬件设计实现了对作业航迹、作业高度、作业速度、施药流量及药液余量等信息的实时监测,进行了航迹监测试验、施药流量监测试验、液位监测试验和变量施药控制试验等。结果表明,该系统可以准确监测多种作业参数,并可根据参数变化精准调控施药流量;飞行航迹监测平均偏差为0.98 m,施药流量监测平均误差为3.57%,液位监测平均误差为1.97%,系统对流量控制的最大误差为9.26%。     

Temporal irrigation performance assessment in Turkey: Menemen case study

During the recent decades, there has been an increasing effort to transfer the management of irrigation schemes from government organizations to non-governmental organizations as decentralization gained momentum and as states started to devolve some of their functions to different groups in the society. Irrigation management in Turkey was also affected by these developments. Since 1993, approximately 90% of the public irrigation schemes were turned over to the locally managed farmer organizations.This study was conducted in the Menemen Irrigation Scheme, to assess the temporal variations of agricultural, water use, environmental and financial performance indicators for the pre-transfer (1984–1994) and the post-transfer (1995–2004) periods.Results showed, after 10 years of transfer, a continued improvement in irrigation performance. The most important finding of the study was a considerable increase in output per unit of land and per unit of water after turnover. Irrigation management transfer (IMT) provided a dramatic achievement in water fee collection efficiencies and more financially self-sustaining organizations. Therefore, it can be safely concluded that the transfer process created more sustainable management for irrigation.     

Measuring and enhancing the value of agricultural water in irrigated river basins

This paper provides an overview of the issues in and approaches to measuring and enhancing the value of agricultural water in large irrigated river basins. It develops a framework and a set of indicators for valuing agricultural water by looking into various dimensions and underlying key factors that influence the value of water at micro, meso and macro levels. The indicators are applied to recent, primary- and secondary-level empirical data from the Indus basin Irrigation system of Pakistan. In addition, the paper compiles recent estimates of the value of agricultural water from 40 settings in 23 countries. Finally, the paper outlines measures for enhancing the value of agricultural water. The paper makes four main points: (1) The popular productivity indicators based on crop output do not capture the full range of benefits and costs associated with agricultural water use. (2) The value of agricultural water may not be as low as it is generally perceived or estimated when all major uses and direct and indirect benefits of water at various levels are properly accounted for. (3) The value of water varies across time and space, and the value to stakeholders at various scales (farmer, system manager, basin planner and national policy maker) could be quite different. For example, the estimate of agricultural water value in the upper Indus basin in Pakistan varies from US$0.04/m³ at the farm scale to US$0.22/m³ at the national scale. The farm-scale value is more relevant, e.g., for agricultural water charging policies, but for water-sector investments and allocation decisions, the national-scale value is important. The decision-making processes related to water sector investments, allocations, management, and charging/cost recovery schemes could be potentially misguided if key dimensions of water value that are related to water availability and use, benefits/costs, and temporal and spatial aspects are not properly accounted for in valuation. (4) Efforts should be directed not only at increasing the productivity of water in terms of mass of output per unit of water, but also the overall benefits or value of water at various levels for larger growth and poverty alleviation impacts, considering the sustainability of the systems.

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Production policies for pastoralists: The Borana case

The design of improved technology or production policies depends upon evaluation of alternative options in terms of their efficiency.Measurement of the efficiency of a pastoral livestock system may be based on the food energy output per livestock unit, while rangeland carrying capacity is assessed in terms of livestock units per square kilometre. On this basis we conclude that, for the Sidamo Borana and probably other pastoral societies: (i) rangeland carrying capacity is limited by the existing density of dry-season waterpoints rather than the primary productivity of the rangeland, with the implication that research in hydrology and design of water supplies may be more beneficial than studies aimed at increasing primary productivity of the rangeland; (ii) that pastoralists have a comparative advantage in milk production and, up to a point, human consumption is a more efficient use of milk than feeding it to calves; (iii) the trade of livestock products for grain is essential for survival.     

Optimisation model for water allocation in deficit irrigation systems: II. Application to the Bémbezar irrigation system

In this paper, the proposed optimisation model is applied to optimise water management in the Bembézar system, a small hydrological basin belonging to the Guadalquivir River basin in southern Spain that supplies water to the Bembézar River Irrigation District.In order to apply the model, the irrigation methods and performance in the irrigation district have been analysed through a set of field irrigation evaluations. Cropping patterns, crop productivity and other relevant agronomic and economic data have been collected.The influence of irrigation uniformity and the type of distribution of irrigation water on the crop yields, as well as the relationship between crop yields and irrigation scheduling have been analysed using the proposed model.A deterministic analysis has been carried out in the irrigation district in order to compare optimum water and cropping patterns management with actual ones.In order to account for the randomness of both climatic and water availability variables, a stochastic data generation has been carried out which considers the correlation between these hydrological series. The system is then analysed in a stochastic environment. Several simulations of the optimisation process have been carried out using generated data on climatic and water availability variables.The result of this analysis demonstrates that when only the satisfaction of the internal demands is considered, high quantities of water are allocated to the irrigation districts resulting in low economic benefits per unit of water used and lower irrigation efficiency. This situation has been compared with the solution provided by the hypothesis of a proposed water market in which it is possible to transfer part of the water of the system to other alternative uses at a fixed price. In this second hypothesis, water consumption in the irrigation districts was reduced.     

许昌地区冬小麦及夏玉米节水型灌溉模式研究

根据河南省许昌地区所进行的冬小麦及夏玉米4种灌溉供水模式(充分灌溉、限水灌溉、保产灌溉、雨养农业)田间对比试验成果,从单位面积总产出值与总投入值的比例以及单位灌水量的增产量两个方面,论述了当地在不同水源条件下,冬小麦与夏玉米适宜采用的灌溉供水模式,为农业高效率用水提供了理论与实践的依据。     

Linking water market functioning, access to water resources and farm production strategies: example from Pakistan

As a response to inadequacy in canal water supplies, farmers in Pakistan have invested in private tubewells to control irrigation water resources. Also, they participate in surface water and groundwater markets that take place within tertiary units of the irrigation system.The present paper describes the functioning and organization of these water markets, using information collected in sample watercourses of the Fordwah Branch irrigation system, South-Punjab, Pakistan. The variability in type and intensity of water markets is investigated with regard to access to water resources and farm production strategies and constraints.     

Irrigation water distribution and long-term effects on crop and environment

The response of three water delivery schedules, representing various levels of flexibility, on crop production, water saving, soil salinization, drainage volumes and watertable behavior was examined. A physical-based transient soil water and solute transfer model, Soil–Water–Atmosphere–Plant (SWAP), was used as a tool. The evaluations were made for un-restricted and restricted water supply situations considering three different watertable conditions prevailing in the fourth drainage project (FDP) of the Punjab, Pakistan. From the simulation results it is apparent that on average the effect of irrigation schedule flexibility on crop yields is not very significant. However, compared to a fixed schedule provided un-restricted canal water supplies are available, the productivity of irrigation water supply (Y_act/I_rr), is up to 30% higher for the on-demand schedule. The on-demand schedule capable of complying with the temporal variations in climate is also more effective in water saving, reducing drainage volumes and controlling rising watertables if farmers follow guidelines and do not over-irrigate. In the present water deficient environment of the Indus basin, the benefits of the on-demand schedule and a fixed schedule are comparable. In the absence of sufficient canal water supplies, infrastructure and a well-designed and effective monitoring and communication system, moving towards the on-demand system will be un-productive. For the long-term sustainability of the irrigation system, improvements in the performance of the present water allocations and on-farm water management practices seems to be more necessary.     

Alfalfa yield as related to transpiration,growth stage and environment

Summary The utility of water production models as irrigation management tools is dependent upon their accuracy. Development of precise water production models requires a thorough understanding of how water and other factors interact to affect plant growth and yield. The objective of this experiment was to identify significant environmental variables which control water production function (transpiration vs. yield) variability between harvests and seasons for alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) over a seven year (1981–1987) period in northwestern New Mexico. A single line-source design was used to supply a continuous gradient of irrigation (I) to the crop, and transpiration (T) was calculated as the difference between evapotranspiration, as estimated by the water balance method, and modeled soil water evaporation at each I level. Yield per cutting was found to be a function of T, growing degree-day accumulation, average daily solar radiation, year and harvest number within year. A multiple regression equation formulated with these variables explained 82% of the yield variability. Average yield per cut in 1981 at 50 mm of T was l Mg ha^-1 and in 1985 at the same level of T was 2 Mg ha^-1 based on the regression model. Yield per cut at any given level of T, as estimated by the coefficients of this equation reached a maximum at year 5.7 and a minimum in year 1. Within a season, yield per unit T was generally greatest at cut 1 and lowest at cut 2. Total seasonal yield was found to be a function of T and year which explained 90% of yield variability. Yield varied from 0.83 Mg ha^-1 to 18.1 Mg ha^-1 and T varied from 186 mm to 1298 mm.     

Conjunctive use of canal and groundwater in Punjab,Pakistan: management and policy options

Data from 41 watercourses commands in Pakistan show that, as expected, farmers in head end reaches of canals receive more canal water than those in tail end reaches. Contrary to conventional wisdom, however, these head end farmers also use more groundwater than those at the tail end. Overall, groundwater plays a more important role in irrigation than surface water, ranging from 65% dependence on pumped water in head end areas to over 90% in tail end areas. This means that groundwater is no longer supplemental to canal water, but is an integral part of the irrigated agricultural environment. However, the cropping choices of farmers appear to reflect the amount of good quality canal water they receive: head end farmers are able to grow more high value basmati rice in the summer and more vegetables in the winter, leaving tail enders to rely on less valuable crops such as fodder and wheat.Tail end areas are not only deprived of their fair share of surface water: they have to pump proportionately more groundwater which shows decreasing quality towards the tail. Typically, head end areas have groundwater with EC values of less than 1.0 dS/m, rising to over 2.0 dS/m in tail end areas. When the quality of both surface and groundwater used by farmers is examined, only the top 40% of the distributary gets water of adequate quality, the next 40% get below average quality, while the tail 20% of farmers irrigate with water that is classified as saline.Because of higher dependence on more expensive groundwater tail enders use less water per unit area, thereby reducing the leaching requirement. The result is a clear increase in soil salinity from head to tail along distributary canals, and there is some evidence of land abandonment in tail end watercourses due to excess salinity.The implications of these results are far reaching. Government policy includes plans to divert significant quantities of fresh canal water to areas underlain by saline groundwater on the basis that farmers already have adapted to pumping fresh groundwater. The results reported suggest that if this policy were implemented, there is a risk that over-dependence on fresh groundwater could lead to an intensification of the rate of soil salinization and deterioration of quality in areas currently classified as fresh groundwater zones.At present, the location and utilization of privately owned shallow tubewells is not monitored, and thus it is not possible for government agencies to determine just how much water of different qualities is being used. Further, canal water deliveries, public deep well monitoring, watercourse monitoring programs, soil salinity measurements, and agricultural performance monitoring are all scattered among different agencies and organizations, making the task of effective conjunctive management of surface and groundwater even more difficult.Conventional wisdom: Groundwater in Pakistan ... where it exists within the canal system ... is used to supplement surface water supplies to meet peaks in demand. (WAPDA, 1990)     

Comparing water management in rice-wheat production systems in Haryana, India and Punjab, Pakistan

The intensive irrigated rice-wheat systems in the northwest Indo-Gangetic Plains of South Asia are built on a long tradition of canal irrigation and the more recent advent of tubewells. Findings from farm surveys are used to examine water management and water productivity in the rice-wheat belt of India's Haryana State and Pakistan's Punjab province. Attributes of the irrigation sources help explain the widespread interest in groundwater use and the relative demise of canal water use. In each area groundwater now is the main irrigation source, used either solely or in conjunction with surface water. The ownership of tubewells is near universal among the surveyed farms, whereas conjunctive water use is more widespread during the monsoon season, among better endowed farmers and in the Pakistan Punjab. In Pakistan Punjab farmers primarily rely on diesel powered tubewells whereas Haryana farmers mainly use relatively cheaper electric power. Water productivity indicators for rice are markedly lower than those for wheat—largely reflecting significantly higher water inputs in paddy cultivation—but also vary between the study areas and by the prevailing water use, reflecting the limited incentives for farmers to use water wisely. A combination of technological, land use and market based approaches is likely to be most effective in achieving sustainable water management in these intensive cereal systems.     

河北省主要农作物水足迹与耗水结构分析

【目的】调整区域农业种植结构,合理利用区域农业水资源。【方法】基于水足迹理论框架分析了1957—2015年河北省14种农作物的水足迹及其历史变化趋势,通过核算农作物耗水率和单位水价值2个指标,划分了主要农作物的耗水结构。【结果】河北省主要农作物年均总水足迹为434.4亿m~3,其中蓝水、绿水和灰水分别占44%、42%和14%;总水足迹、绿水足迹及灰水足迹均呈逐年增加趋势;而蓝水足迹变化趋势不明显。冬小麦、夏玉米、水果与蔬菜为主要耗水作物。棉花和芝麻耗水率最高,为典型的高耗水作物。甜菜、蔬菜和水果的单位水价值最高,且耗水结构最优。【结论】河北省可进一步控制棉花和芝麻的种植规模,在不造成水压力的前提下,适度扩大蔬菜和水果的种植规模。     

Relationship between salinity and efficient water use

The relationship between salinity and water use efficiency is highly dependent upon which definition of water use efficiency is used. The two common definitions, yield per unit evapotranspiration and yield per unit applied water, both have significant deficiencies and can lead to erroneous conclusions. Thus, the analysis of efficient use of saline waters invokes a broader analysis than merely computing water use efficiency. An array of models is available to simulate the effects of various irrigation management strategies with saline waters. Based on results computed from these models, which consider the osmotic and matric potential effects on plant growth, strategies can be developed to effectively use saline waters in crop production. The cyclic strategy of using waters of different salinities can effectively be used in maintaining crop rotations which include both salt-sensitive and salt-tolerant crops. The major deficiency of the models is that they do not account for the effects of water quality on soil physical conditions with consequent effects on crop production. Indeed, the most limiting factor in use of saline waters on soils may be deterioration of soil physical conditions. The deterioration of soil physical conditions does not result from using the high-salinity waters per se but from subsequent rainfall or low salinity waters. Thus far the emphasis on using saline waters on crop production has centered on yields and less attention has been given to the long-term consequences on soil physical conditions. This factor requires further research and should be a focus of attention in future experiments. Relatively high saline water tables can be maintained without drainage if a non-saline source of water is available, and irrigation amounts can be controlled. This strategy might invoke the necessity for shifting irrigation systems from surface to pressurized systems. Eventually, some salt must be removed from the system. It is probably more efficient to allow it to become very concentrated and remove small volumes to be disposed of in some manner rather than apply it to productive land.     

Irrigation reliability and the productivity of water: A proposed methodology using evapotranspiration mapping

Irrigation is the dominant user of water worldwide, but provision of potable water and water for industry are higher priorities and give higher social and economic returns. Irrigation will continue to lose water to competing sectors and the productivity of irrigation systems (since food demand continues to grow) remains a central issue in water management. Performance assessment of irrigation has traditionally been difficult when based on field measurements of flows, deliveries and depths over large areas. Furthermore, performance measures have shifted from narrow engineering indicators to broader productivity issues of production achieved per unit of water consumed. Remote sensing, applied to the estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) over large areas, provides analysts of irrigation systems with extraordinary new tools for the objective assessment of consumption and production – constituting a quantum leap in the assessment of irrigation system performance. Awareness and utilisation of these tools is spreading, but important areas remain to be “converted” from traditional approaches that rely on an array of estimated parameters. The next challenge for remote sensing will be to map the frontier between the reliability of the irrigation service and the productivity achieved. Reliability provides the inducement for farmers to invest in higher productivity – to the benefit of themselves and society – and understanding better how the individual maximises profits within an uncertain irrigation environment can provide important guidance to managers and system designers.